


Anniversary Surprise

by Bookwyrm_99



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Im not very good at tagging stuff sorry, There might be Hurt/Comfort at some point I haven't decided yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22644559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwyrm_99/pseuds/Bookwyrm_99
Summary: Callum and Rayla are in need of a break, luckily, it's almost their One Year Anniversary, the perfect time to take a vacation.  Callum won't tell Rayla where they're going, but say's she'll be ecstatic when she finds out.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 76





	1. Wonderstruck

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if it's not very good, I've never actually written a fic before, and I've never really written any fiction outside of like one short story I had to write a couple years ago for my College Composition course. I just got inspired to write something because I need more Rayllum in my life. Not sure when I'll get the next chapter out because wow college is annoying ya know, but probably within the next two weeks. Critiques are welcome but please be gentle, I'm new at this after all!

Callum was enchanted. Not of course to say that he was under some dark magic spell influencing him in some way, no, Callum was in love. Although, he supposed, some do consider love to be a kind of magic. 

It had been almost a year since the events at the Storm Spire took place, almost a year since Viren’s body disappeared from its base, almost a year since they had finally reunited Zym with his mother, and almost a year since Xadia and the Human Kingdoms became officially at peace. Since then they had spent most of the time staying at the Storm Spire, Callum training with Ibis, and Rayla on duty as the new head of the Dragonguard, they had only one time away from the Spire, to Katolis to deliver Ezran back to his throne. That journey had involved a very large convoy of guards and officials, as well as multiple stops for political reasons. The time away from the Spire amounted to only about three weeks, with all three of those weeks being stressful from all the politicking, and then sad from them leaving Ezran in Katolis. So he and Rayla were very much in need of a break.

Luckily, there was the perfect occasion coming up to facilitate just such a break. As it was almost a year since the battle of the Storm Spire, that meant it was also almost a year since he and Rayla officially became a couple. So for the past few weeks, Callum had been planning a little trip for them. They had already cleared it with Queen Zubeia, who had been surprisingly supportive of their relationship since the beginning, and she had even suggested a location that they might enjoy on their anniversary vacation, though Callum had already picked out a location, and wanted their destination to be a surprise for Rayla.

Since Rayla had taken up the duties of the Dragonguard, and Callum began training with Ibis, they had been given access to one of the rooms with a larger bed that used to be reserved for members of the Dragonguard that were married. That worked for them, as in the weeks following the Battle, both him and Rayla had had many nightmares about the fall, so it was comforting to be able to be with one another on particularly rough nights of sleep. In recent months though, the nightmares came less and less often, around once every couple weeks, if that. But of course they still shared a bed, who would tell the heroes who saved Zym and stopped Viren that they could not. 

That morning he had awoken slightly before Rayla, which was of great surprise to him as she was typically off to guard duty by the time he woke up. So it was quite nice to wake up with one arm still wrapped tight around her and the other uncomfortably squashed under their pillows. He felt a warmth in his chest as he thought about just how lucky he was to have Rayla in his life.

Today was finally the day for them to leave. They had spent the previous night packing with Rayla trying to trick Callum into revealing where they were going. On foot, the trip would take them about three days of non-intensive walking, although there would be one small stint of flying. Callum wished they could fly the whole way there, but carrying both Rayla and their luggage for extended periods of time would probably not go well, so walking for the majority of the time it was. 

Well, that was what he told Rayla, in truth she was not very heavy, and Ibis had been having him fly with weights as practice. But Callum had another surprise in store for her, and it would not be ready for around three days, so he told her they absolutely had to walk.

Rayla finally started to stir next to him, and she let out a large yawn and rolled over to face Callum.

She looked sleepily into Callum’s eyes, “Good morning, my mage. Excited to get on our way today?” 

Callum still felt giddy being called a mage, and it had eventually turned into one of her pet names for him. “More than ready, my moonbeam.” He said, replying with his own pet name for her. He didn’t find it very creative, but it was very fitting, and she seemed to like it whenever he called her that, so it worked for him.

“Well, then I guess we should probably get on our way then! I can’t wait to find out where we’re going.” She said with a smile, looking more awake already. 

He and Rayla started to clamber their way out of bed, “You’ll find out soon enough, and how about we have a bit of breakfast first.” He said with a little chuckle, as his stomach took the moment to growl loudly.

“I suppose I can wait a little longer to find out,” Replied Rayla, putting on a faux pout. “But it better be a good surprise! I’ve been dying to know for weeks!”

With a grin Callum responded, “Ray, you’re gonna love this place, I’m sure of it.”

About an hour later they had finished their breakfast, and were shouldering their packs getting ready to set out. During the meal they’d sat down with Ibis, who had woken up around the same time as them to say his goodbyes. Following which they said farewell to Zubiea, two of the new Dragonguards who were on the morning shift, and of course Zym, who was very distraught to see them go. 

After much convincing telling Zym that, truly, they would be back in a couple weeks, he finally allowed them to set off down the Spire without trying to chase them.

At the top of the stairs leading down, Callum felt Rayla put her hand in his. She then placed a light kiss on his cheek and said, “Wherever we’re going, I’m glad we get to go together.”

He turned to her and returned a kiss on her lips, and replied smiling, “I love you, Rayla. I can’t wait for you to see where we’re going, you’ll be wonderstruck.” 

“I love you too, Callum. But, you know I’ve seen quite a bit of Xadia, more than you for sure, so this place must be pretty amazing if I’m going to be 'wonderstruck'.” 

“Trust me Ray, it’s amazing.” 

“Of course, I trust you.” 

The two of them then turned towards the stairs, and started the long descent to ground level.


	2. The Sunblossom Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla and Callum settle down for the night after a long day on the road.

The weather was absolutely beautiful as Rayla walked hand in hand with the love of her life through the now familiar craggy plains that surrounded the Storm Spire for miles. The sun showed it was a way past its apex and she was starting to get hungry. They’d left a little over 8 hours ago, and had only had a small snack for lunch, as they were trying to get as much distance between them and the Spire before they would settle in for the night. 

She turned toward Callum, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get pretty hungry. Want to find a nice place for us to have a bit of lunch?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Callum said sounding plenty ready to settle in for the evening. “I’ve been starving for like an hour now but I didn’t want to say anything. You just seemed so eager to keep going.”

She squeezed his hand tightly, “Oh, Callum you should’ve said something, this whole journey is your idea so you’re the one who gets to set the pace. Let’s find a good spot to rest.” She started craning her neck, looking around between the hills and crags nearby for a good place for them to settle down. Not too long into searching Rayla finally saw the perfect spot, and began dragging Callum to it with her.

Due to the rocky nature of the area, there were some beautiful locations to be found hidden among the hills and small valleys that were abound. What she found for them was a small stream that had led them shortly to a quaint pond that was overlooked by a large blossoming tree. 

The tree towered over the pond in full bloom. The wood looked almost carved out of marble, each of the lines in the bark looking like they had been carved by a craftsman. Along each of its multitude of branches there were an array of golden flowers. They were so naturally bright it looked as if it were alight in some brilliant fire. Some of the petals had drifted off in the breeze, and rested gently upon the ground, and moving languorously across the surface of the water like little candles. 

Callum had an awed look upon his face, “Ray this place is beautiful, I thought I was starting to get used to the nature here in Xadia, but this tree is just…” He seemed at a loss for words. “It looks as if the sun were a tree.”

Rayla herself had a huge smile plastered across her face and was practically jumping with joy, “Callum you don’t know the half of it, this isn’t just some ordinary blossom, I think this is a Sunblossom!”

Callum let go of her hand, and started walking to get a better look. “Wow. They must be rare, I’m amazed there wasn’t a trail already leading here, so close to the main path.” 

As he made it to the tree and touched it, Rayla joined him, wrapping a hand around his waist and turned him to look at her. “They’re not just rare you silly mage, they only make themselves seen to two people at a time. Some people don’t even think they exist.” Her face grew hot, and she felt a deep blush form on her cheeks, “The story goes that only elves destined to be together for their whole lives see them.”

“I guess that it still works even though I’m human.” Callum replied with a giddy smile, obviously excited by this new information. He moved in and met her for a deep kiss, “Have I mentioned that I love you, moonbeam?”

“I think you could stand to mention it more,” She said with a sly grin that slowly changed to a loving smile. “And I love you too. Now let’s have some dinner, my mage.”

They spent the evening sitting close underneath the sunblossom, eating a dinner of moonberry juice, sandwiches, and some jelly tarts that Callum had baked the night before they left. (Rayla had been surprised to find that, while Callum did not have as much of a sweet tooth as his brother, he loved to bake, and that it was a hobby he picked up from his mother). As the sun began to set Rayla lit a small fire in front of them, and held each other close and warmed themselves with its flames. Not wanting to disturb the tranquil quiet of the area they spoke in hushed voices about their hopes and dreams for the future, feeling assured by the looming sunblossom that they would be together through whatever came at them in the future.

Hours deeper into the night the moon and stars dominated the sky above them. Deciding it was time to sleep, Callum began to quench the fire using some of the water from the pond. With the last of flames dying down, and the embers cooling, they noticed something miraculous.

They had thought that it was the natural resplendence of the flowers of the tree, illuminated by sun and firelight, that made it seem to glow in the daytime. But now, with the light of the fire gone, the dark that should have begun to envelop them was pushed back by a gentle golden glow emanating from each flower, even the petals floating softly on the surface of the water now were shown to be gleaming.

Callum shook himself out of his stupor, grabbing his sketchbook, “I absolutely need to draw this.” 

Rayla watched as he picked up a handful of petals and scattered them on and around his pages to provide light. Slowly but surely the picture took form, Callum’s hands moving quickly but steadily. She felt a tug at her heart as, when she thought him done, his pencil still kept sketching, filling in a space at the base of the glowing tree with a depiction of the two of them sleeping deeply. It showed their heads leaning against one another, their hands intertwined, and the ghost of smiles upon their faces.

Running her fingers across the page, careful not to smudge the image, she said, “I think this might be my favorite picture you’ve ever made, it’s beautiful.”

After a moment of satisfactory grinning at her compliment, Callum closed the book and tucked it back into his pack. He then pulled Rayla along with him and grabbed a blanket. Then, after they shared a quick kiss goodnight, they lay at the base of the tree, in what Rayla could only imagine was a perfect facsimile of the picture Callum had just added to his collection. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought as she drifted off peacefully to sleep, hand in hand with her mage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually very proud of this chapter! Listened to a lot of love songs writing it, namely "Love Love Love" by Of Monsters and Men. Anyway, feel free to critique, and I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Lifespan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a good nights rest, Callum finds out something surprising, and the two get closer to their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!! Also I'm working on another fic now that'll probably come out in a couple weeks that's more focused on hurt/comfort, so look forward to that!

“Yeouch!” Callum awoke with a yelp of surprise, feeling a sharp poking pain near the crook of his neck.

Rayla was up in a flash, grabbing one of her swords from next to their blanket, “What happened? Who’s attacking us?” She said, scanning the area for potential threats. 

Callum burst out laughing, “Ray you - I wish you could see yourself right now, you look ridiculous!” She looked like someone who had been living away from civilization for a decade. Her clothes were dusty and rumpled from sleeping on the ground, and she had just a hint of drool drying on her cheek. The key part of the look however, was the fact that half her hair was sticking out at practically gravity defying angles, as if she had been struck by lightning. He thought it almost made her more intimidating, in the way one would be intimidated by a caveman. 

Rayla’s face flushed a deep purple as she looked at the state of herself. She looked into the pond and gave a small snort upon seeing her hair. Quickly smoothing down her hair she turned back to Callum, who was rubbing his shoulder with a slight wince on his face. “Why’d you cry out? I was worried someone had stabbed you or something, while we were sleeping.” 

Stretching and standing up, Callum replied with a yawn, “Well technically I think _you_ stabbed me, although I don’t hold it against you, I’m just amazed this is the first time that it’s happened.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry Callum!” She ran up to inspect his wound, luckily she had not actually pierced his skin.

“You know, maybe we should make some little soft caps for these horns of yours,” He joked, tapping the tip of one for emphasis. “To be honest they’d probably be classified as weapons back in Katolis, and in fact, I think it’s a crime to stab a prince too.” 

“And what might the toll be for such a heinous crime, _your highness_?” She said, her words practically dripping with sarcasm.

Going along with her joking, Callum wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, saying, “Oh nothing horrible, just death, obviously.” He gave her a cheeky grin, “But I suppose, as a benevolent prince, I can make an exception. I think instead we can just have you live a long and happy life with me, I’m sure you’ll find some way to apologize for stabbing me in the decades ahead.” 

She placed a quick kiss on his lips, “Well, I suppose I can live with that, good thing you unlocked that Arcanum, won’t be dying any earlier than-”

Callum froze and stopped her in the middle of her sentence, turning her to face him, “Wait what? What do you mean I won’t be dying any earlier?”

“What? Didn’t Ibis tell you when you were training with him? Why elves live longer than humans?”

“Uh, no, I guess it just slipped his mind, _obviously_ not that important or anything.”

“I suppose it makes sense he didn’t say anything, it’s just common knowledge for us. Being connected to one of the primal sources extends your life, you should age just like an elf now Callum.”

He was at a loss for words, what did this mean for the future? Of course it was incredible that he would be able to spend not only his own full human life with his love, but even further to the end of her elven lifespan. But what about his brother? All of his friends in Katolis who would grow old and die before him. 

With a glisten of tears in his eyes Callum broke the brief silence that had settled, “This is, uh, a lot to process Rayla, I had no idea. On the one hand I’m so happy I get to spend such a long life with you, but I’m also kind of sad at the idea of Ezran, and all my human friends dying before me.”

Lightly wiping away his tears she spoke softly to him, “Whatever comes of it, we’ll find a way to cope with it together,” A light grin broke upon her face trying to lighten the situation. “And who knows, maybe you can figure out a way to help other humans unlock Arcanums of their own, so you won’t feel so out of place.”

“I guess I’ll just have to find out how to help others do that.” He said, feeling a little more upbeat at the thought of teaching his little brother magic. “Alright, enough feeling sad for the morning, we’ve got years ahead of us in the future, and a fair few miles ahead of us today. Let’s get our packs and head out.” This trip was not a trip for him to get sad on, they could have Big Feelings Time when they got back to the Storm Spire. 

They ate a quick breakfast of dried fruits, bread, moonberry juice, and, of course, some jelly tarts. Before they departed, Callum took a few flowers from a branch of the sunblossom and slipped them between the pages of his sketchbook to preserve them.  
Over the course of the day, the landscape transformed. The rolling plains littered with little crags and valleys slowly became fields with streams and a smattering of trees, until late in the afternoon when they were walking alongside a wide slow moving river in a forest flush with life and magic. There were numerous fluffy white clouds slowly rolling across the sky as they walked. With the sun beginning to near the horizon, Callum started to feel a distinct breeze he had begun to associate with large bodies of water. Ibis had been teaching him how to detect the minute details of winds originating from different sources, he had said it would help flying be more natural, and even further attune Callum with the Sky Arcanum.

Callum turned to his girlfriend, “Ok Ray, remember how I said we’d have to do a teensy bit of flying?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Well, we’re coming up on a pretty big lake, which is what we have to fly over. It’ll only take like half an hour, but if you’re uncomfortable going over a ton of water we can walk around, it’ll take a little longer but only by an extra day or so.”

She gulped, and Callum could tell she was really mulling it over in her head before she said, “Nope. I trust you, this is gonna go fine, no problems at all.” 

“Are you positive, I don’t-”

“No, really, it’s fine, if you’re confident enough that you can carry us both across the water safely then I trust you to do it. I believe in you. Plus I really want to get wherever it is we’re going.”

“Ok, I love you moonbeam, thanks for trusting me to do this. I think we should probably settle in somewhere for the night so I can rest up before flying in the morning.”

It only took a moment to find a good spot for them to settle in for the night. The thick forest lent much cover for them from the road, although they doubted many people would be walking down it, it did not seem to get too much use. Rayla got to work setting a small fire in a clearing, while Callum set to clearing a spot for them to sleep. The moon above them was close to full, and would probably hit its fullest tomorrow night. Just as Callum had planned.

The day had been long, and they spent the night sitting close to one another, eating food and telling stories about their childhoods that each had heard many times before, but never failed to make one another laugh. As the moon got higher in the sky, the fire dimmed before them, and they eventually made their way to the space Callum had cleared to spend another night in each others arms, hoping that tomorrow would bring a day just as good as the last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really trying to improve my skills at dialogue for this chapter, cuz I feel I'm not very good at it yet. I hope you all like it though! And please feel free to leave a comment with a critique if you felt there's anything I can improve on!!


	4. Rock Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla and Callum go for a quick flight, and arrive at their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that this chapter took forever to come out, I've been struggling with finding the motivation to write, and I kept on deleting what I put because I couldn't think of exactly the way I wanted this to go. But here's another chapter, hope y'all like it :)

Chapter Four  
Rayla awoke that morning before Callum. He had fallen asleep with his head tucked into the crook of her neck so as to not have a repeat of yesterday morning, when Rayla had nearly killed the poor mage with one of her horns. The forest was already awake as well. Illuminated by the sunlight pouring through the branches she saw butterflies, squirrels, and a few birds flitting between trees. She felt very at peace, feeling the magical thrum of the world around her. After a little while of her just sitting, running her fingers through Callum’s hair, he woke up. 

“G’mornin, Ray.” He said sleepily.

“Good morning, sleepy prince.” 

He let out a light chuckle, “I guess I should get off you now so we can leave.”

“I think we can sit here for a little while longer, if we eat while we’re walking later.” She would have been fine sitting like this for the day, but if a few minutes extra was all she could get, she would take them gladly. After around fifteen or so minutes of the two of them enjoying the warm morning, Rayla reluctantly got up, helping Callum to his feet, and started packing up their things. 

“I’d say we only have an hour or so of a walk to the lake, then half an hour flight to the other side, you ready Rayla?” Callum asked as they started on the road, munching on a few slices of orange.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She replied with a slightly nervous look on her face. Callum must have noticed the look on her face, as he interlocked his fingers with hers almost the moment after she said it and gave her hand a quick squeeze. 

::

Just like Callum said, about an hour later she laid her eyes on a prismarine lake, the small waves upon it sparkling in the bright sunlight. The shore in front of them was made of pebbles and large rocks. She would have thought it was beautiful if she was not so terrified at the thought of flying over it. But she knew that Callum was definitely a good enough flier by this point that there was almost no risk in it, it was just one of those irrational fears that could only be conquered slowly over time.

Getting near the edge of the lake, they settled in a cluster of rocks and Callum shrugged off his pack and his jacket. After he placed his jacket into the pack he checked the runes on his arms for any smudging and spoke. _“Manus, Pluma, Volantis!”_ His arms extended to the sides; they quickly started to sprout brown feathers growing out from his shoulders until they replaced his fingers as well. Then he turned to her and said, “Well Rayla, hop on.”

Rayla got into the flight position they had developed over the past year, her arms looped under his wings, and wrapped her legs around his to secure them. “I think I’m secure now, Callum.”

“Alright, let’s make this quick then!” With a smile and some practiced grace, he flapped his wings down and they shot into the sky.

“Maybe a little slower there please!” Rayla cried over the rush of the wind into her boyfriend’s ear. 

“Right, sorry! Gotta build up a little speed at the beginning so we can get good altitude!” 

For most of the short flight Rayla had her eyes squeezed shut, scrunched up holding her head against Callum’s back, trying to calm herself by listening to his steady heartbeat. Occasionally she would chance a peek, looking out into the distance to see their destination drawing closer. The land across the lake was forested like the side they had come from, but it seemed more densely packed, and it seemed to grow hillier as well. 

Before even a half hour was up, Rayla felt their altitude dropping, and realized they were already going in for a landing. As they dropped closer to the ground, Callum beat his wings to slow their fall, coming to a landing rather gracefully and kneeling so Rayla could easily get off.

Moving his pack back to its normal position he looked at Rayla saying, “Well that wasn’t so bad now, was it? And the view was spectacular!”

“Aye, it wasn’t terrible, I suppose. I didn’t see too much of the view though, I had my eyes closed for the better part of the flight.” Rayla replied.

“Well it’s all done now. Do you want to take a break for a moment? We’re not too far from our final destination.”

“I suppose we could have a bit of an early lunch, I imagine flying did kind of tire you out.” She said, beginning to pull out some food from her pack. They settled near the edge of the forest, finding a nice mossy log to rest upon, and quickly got back on their way after eating.  
Not long after they had started off on their final leg of the journey, Callum stopped, pulling her to a halt as well. They had moved off the beaten path, and were walking in the shadow of a rather large rock face. She noticed, now that she looked closer at it, it had words written in ancient Draconic on it. In fact, they looked similar to the ones that glowed when she used her Key at the Silvergrove.

“Well, we’re here!” Callum said, with an excited grin on his face. “About 8 or so hours early, give or take, but we’re here!”

“And where is here, exactly?” She felt rather excited as well, wanting to know what exactly her boyfriend had in store for her.

He looked slightly smug saying, “You’ll see when the moon rises.” And with a grin he winked.

“Do we really have to wait that long?” She said exasperatedly, and continued with a pout, “If I knew we’d have to wait when we got here, I would’ve made you cuddle for longer in the morning.” 

“Sorry, I got kind of over excited.” He replied sheepishly, “If you want to lay down together somewhere while we wait we can, I’m sure there’s a comfy patch of moss somewhere around here.”

She smiled, “Sounds perfect.”

::

Hours later they had taken a short nap, eaten dinner, and generally lazed about. Rayla was brimming with energy and _very_ ready for the moon to come out. And at long last the wait was over, she was finally going to find out whatever it was Callum had planned.

They got up and walked back to the rock face. The moon was full directly above their heads, and Rayla felt imbued with power, like she could fight the world and win. She considered turning invisible and playing a prank on Callum, but decided against it as she really wanted to find out why those runes were there.

As if on cue, when they stepped close to the runes they began to light up with a soft bluish glow. When the topmost rune began glowing, the rock face shimmered, and a crack seemingly opened up out of the wall. Callum took her hand, looked at her with a grin, and together they strode through the crack, to whatever was hidden there.


End file.
